Unreleased Prince Music Soundtracks the Runway at Versace Show: Watch

The S/S 2017 menswear line wasn't the only thing to fabulously debut on the Versace runway during the brand's Milan Fashion Week show on June 18. As models strutted down the catwalk, they did so to a mashup of never-before-heard songs — as well as past hits — from the legendary, late Prince.

While the iconic musician's Paisley Park vault is said to contain countless hours of unreleased music, fashion maestro Donatella Versace may be the next best thing. In an interview with Billboard, the designer revealed that Prince was one of her closest friends, and had been sending her unheard songs for years — as recently as five months before his April 21 passing. In an effort to pay tribute to the prolific singer-songwriter, a handful of those tracks were played during her spring/summer runway show.

"Prince was always writing and recording, even if it was just a late-night jam at Paisley Park," she told Billboard. "He had been sending me songs for years — it was his way of communicating. Just hearing his voice again makes me smile... I wanted to express my love and admiration for my friend who I miss so much. Celebrating him and his music at my menswear show seemed like the best way."

And a fitting celebration it was: As models began to charge down the runway, "The Future," Prince's buoyant, aggressive 1989 track off the Batman soundtrack, opened the show.

As the presentation continued, an electrifying mix of songs old and previously unreleased played, the celebratory atmosphere punctuated by a number of very purple, very Prince-inspired pieces as well as the musician's signature kinetic electric guitar riffs, which filled the room. At one point during the mix, the artist's spectral voice could be heard chanting on loop, "Clap your hands for Donatella. Come on, it's alright."

"I love men who can dress beyond rules and codes. Prince set his own rules and did what he wanted," Donatella continued to gush in her interview. "He wore high heels, showed his body, chose strong color, did whatever pleased him. He loved to play with fashion, to provoke and shock. I was in awe of him, always."

Prince, who loved experimenting with fashion almost as much as he loved experimenting with music, would have surely appreciated the sartorial homage.